The Big Bang Theory
by coffeeandcupcakes
Summary: After a girl walks straight out of the rift, the Torchwood team are sucked into the Doctor's world as they must team up to fight against a primary source of evil, and stuggle remain intact at the same time - not as easy as it sounds. ABANDONED.
1. The Meat Feast Conversation

_**Only A Wish Away**_

(title may change, by the way. Not a dead set title.)

_**A/N: Hey! This is my first fic, and although it's Torchwood in this chapter (and the next, and the one after that. Ok, for a good few chapter's it's Torchwood) it is, in it's core, a reunion fic. Because I couldn't bear not to do one.**_

_**SPOILERS FOR TORCHWOOD – UP TO DEAD MAN WALKING.**_

_**Hope you enjoy the fic, remember to review!**_

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Tossing his jacket over his chair, Captain Jack Harkness rubbed his eyes. It had been another long day catching Weevils and administrating Retcon to the people who'd been unlucky enough to catch a glimpse of them. They were undoubtedly scary things if you hadn't seen them before, never mind if you hadn't seen any alien life forms. Jack had never been in that position; even when he was a child there was always alien knowledge all around you. Now he was over 100 years old, he had seen and done more than his fair share of alien dabbling.

Looking up, he saw Gwen standing at the entrance to his 'office', looking more than a tad concerned.

"You alright, Jack?" she said, in her heavy Welsh accent.

Smiling, Jack shook his head. "Nah, I'm OK. A bit tired. Nothing to worry about!" he said, certain that a night of sleep would do him the world of good. He hadn't slept last night, worrying about Owen – he was worrying more than that man deserved – and was no shattered. Even though he was immortal, he still needed to sleep.

"Alright, then." Gwen said, reluctantly, knowing that if there was anything seriously wrong then Jack would admit it. "We're just gonna write up the reports for the Weevils, then we're gonna head home, I think. Tosh is going with Owen again – I don't think anyone wants to leave him on his own in his condition." She said, her eyes dimming slightly. Jack looked at her, as she brought her head back up, the sparkle returning to her eyes. "That OK?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. Just tell me when you're finished." Jack said, ushering Gwen out the door and turning back to his desk. Sighing, he pulled a stack of paperwork to him, picked up a pen, and began to write.

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"He's getting weirder."

"Is that possible?"

"Well, he's acting stranger." Gwen said, looking sideways at Owen with whom she was having a discussion with. "Tired. He's _never_ tired. Never."

"'Course 'e is!" Ianto said, through a mouthful of pizza. Swallowing, he turned to Gwen. "He's immortal, I know, but surely he must get tired like the rest of us lesser beings?" he smirked, taking another large bite of his Meat Feast pizza.

Owen looked at the pizza, following it as it made its way from the plate to Ianto's mouth. "Don't. You're torturing me here!" he said, pointing to the pizza. It bummed him that he wasn't allowed to eat, drink, sleep, or even piss. It was shit, and Owen hated it.

Seeing Owen's deep scowl, Gwen turned the conversation back to Jack, who was still shut in his office. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed!" she said, her eyes wide. "Ever since he came back from being away, wherever he was, he's been different. Reminiscing a lot more than he used to." She said, looking at the others, some of whom were nodding in agreement at her statement.

"I suppose …" said Tosh, who turned away from her computer long enough to catch the end of Gwen's statement. "He never used to mention his past, even before you came. Ever more so before you, actually. You unearthed a few things – especially that comment about "finding the right doctor" that's the one I'm most curious about, myself." She said, picking up a slice of pizza herself, as Ianto batted Owen's hand away from the pizza as it automatically reached for a slice. Owen scowled at him, as Ianto smirked back.

"Really?" Gwen didn't know this, and was slightly intrigued. She'd always thought that the rest of them knew a tad more about Jack that she did, and that had always narked her off somewhat. To be honest, knowing basically nothing about your boss except the fact that he was immortal and his name narked her off on a permanent basis, which was why she was so dedicated to shifting some light onto the intricate character of Jack.

A buzzing from Tosh's computer attracted the group's attention, but they soon all turned back to the pizza, apart from Tosh, who was now completely immersed in whatever the computer was saying. The rest of the group, however, turned their attentions back to the conversation at hand: Jack.

"So who's this 'doctor' person then?" Gwen asked, knowing that they'd probably know more than she did.

"Dunno." Owen said, always the helpful one. The glances that Ianto and Gwen gave him sounded this comment. "He's never mentioned him directly," he said, backtracking, "only that he was 'waiting for the right kind of doctor'. Maybe a chiropodist?" he suggested, his smile letting the rest know that he was joking.

"Seriously, though, does no-one know anything about the one thing from Jack's past that keeps cropping up?" she asked. "Is he the thing that made Jack immortal?"

"Maybe." Ianto said, rolling his head around his shoulders, "But I don't think so. Just by the way he talks. It doesn't seem like it. I'm sure he'd gush a lot more."

"Wait a minute." Owen said, holding up his hands. "When Martha was here, she said they were, what was it, 'under the same doctor', yeah. And she said they go 'forward and back'. And he said he relied on her when the world was ending."

"How can you go 'forward and back'? And sorry, but the world hasn't completely ended anytime recently. When did the world end for him and Martha?" Gwen asked, her expression puzzled.

"No idea. But I don't think it's something we are going to get to know anytime soon." Owen said, cocking up a smile. Gwen returned it as Tosh made a gasping noise.

"Guys, you better see this." She said, before getting up off her seat and rushing to Jack's office, pulling the door open with unnecessary force. "Jack! Rift activity!" she said, excitement evident on her face. She rushed back to her seat, swivelling round as she slammed into it, before turning back to her computer and punching some random keys (or what it seemed like to the other members of the team) and a list of statistics appeared on the screen.

"Rift activity about three minutes ago. Just outside of here, it seems. At the water tower." Tosh said, hitting the keyboard again. "Just trying to see the correct CCTV footage for that time," she said, her eyes screwed up in concentration, before suddenly relaxing. "There!" she said, pointing to a fuzzy yellow line that split down the left hand side of the screen, slightly to the left of the water tower that stood in the middle of Cardiff.

"You can barely see that!" Owen said, squinting, as the rest of the team were also doing.

"Sorry, let me fix that," Tosh said, before punching the keys. The image suddenly became a whole lot clearer as the yellow line got brighter and something came out of the rift.

"A _person_?" Ianto said, looking around. Jack, Owen, Gwen and Tosh were all equally as stunned. They'd never seen a figure come out of the rift before, least of all walk out like they were strolling to the supermarket.

"A girl." Jack said, as the figure became much clearer. It was a girl, a teenage girl. Her hair was the colour of chocolate, and she was wearing a black top and jeans. The group all looked at each other before grabbing coats, preparing to go outside to see this girl.

"Wait." Ianto said, beckoning them over to the CCTV. "You better see this." Everyone grouped around the computer again, and a collective gasp was heard from all five members of the group.

The girl was walking away, her back to the camera. Printed on the back, clear as day, was the Torchwood sign, with the words, "TORCHWOOD LONDON" printed underneath.


	2. Torchwood London's Clothing Crisis

Only A Wish Away

_**The Big Bang Theory**_

_**Only two reviews for the last chapter; although that's to be expected with a new story. Thanks to Darmok and Talia Taylor for their reviews. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and please review! :)**_

"And we were stupid enough to think that Torchwood London had closed down," Ianto said dryly, smiling slightly. Gwen, Tosh and Owen smiled back, but Jack's face remained impassive. All five of them were asking themselves the same question – why was this girl walking out of the rift, completely unharmed? As if telepathically connected, all five moved to grab their guns, torches and jackets before exiting the Hub, with Jack warning them they were now on high red alert, and the objective was to stun the girl, not to kill her.

Gwen shuddered at the thought of killing anyone, especially a potentially harmless teenage girl, who was probably just lost and confused. She side-glanced at Tosh, who was wearing the same expression. They split off to look for the girl, Gwen and Tosh pairing up to go down one side street, with Jack, Ianto and Owen going do separate ones. "Don't do anything stupid," Jack had warned them, but was looking pointedly at Owen as he'd said that.

Jack's own questions were flying through his mind so fast; it was hard to latch onto a single one. One of the ones that stood out distinctly, however, was Ianto's one that he'd said back at the Hub; _"And we were stupid enough to think that Torchwood London had closed down," _– why was a teenage girl wandering around with a Torchwood London tee shirt on? And when the hell did Torchwood start doing tee shirts? As he pictured Ianto in one, a shriek was heard from his left. Spinning on his heel, he ran towards to source of the noise, which turned out to be Tosh.

Rounding a corner, Owen hot on his heels, he saw Ianto and Tosh hunched over something on the ground; Jack couldn't see Gwen. "Where's Gwen?" he asked, looking over his shoulder, before Owen pointed out that Gwen was on the floor, holding the girl. She'd obviously managed to stun the girl, and she'd fallen backwards; Gwen had caught her. Jack picked up their girl and flung her over his shoulder, striding confidently back to the Hub. It was time to figure out who exactly this girl was.

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About an hour later, while the group were fervently discussing how this girl had managed to come through the rift, the alarm sounded to tell them that she'd awoke. Sprinting downstairs, Jack found her sitting on the bench supplied in her vault, looking as though none of this was out of the ordinary. "Come. We have some questions for you." Jack said, trying to sound intimidating. The girl just nodded, and smiled, and followed Jack into the interrogation room.

Gwen was already there, seated down beside a chair that was obviously meant for Jack. She motioned for the girl to take a seat opposite the desk. She took it.

"My name is Gwen Cooper," Gwen said, indicating to herself, "and this is Captain Jack Harkness."

The girl's eyebrows shot up, her eyes sparkling a little. "Really?" she asked; the first word she's said. Her accent confirmed she was a Londoner, and a South one at that.

"You've heard of me?" Jack asked her, grinning, leaning forward on his elbows slightly. Had Torchwood London been talking about him?

The girl snorted. "Of course," she said, before her eyes widened slightly. "I've heard stories." She backtracked, smiling as well, although it was only a small one, a ghost of what looked like a smile Jack had seen before.

"OK." Jack said, content to take that explanation. He turned back to her. "On with the questions. First things first, let's keep things basic … what's your name?"

"Tala." She said immediately.

"Unusual name." Gwen said, her pen skirting across paper as she recorded the girl's personal details. "But it suits you. Your middle name, please, and surname?"

"Not telling you that." She said, scratching the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry, but we have authorisation for you to be truthful with us." Gwen said, her voice soft and gentle.

"No." Her voice, which had started out quiet, had grown until Tala was almost shouting.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not allowed!" she screamed, forcing her chair back, running for the door; finding it locked, she started hitting against it helplessly, her punches getting weaker as she dissolved into sobs. Gwen made a move to comfort her, but Tala shyed away, instead, seeking comfort in Jack. Gwen, looking a little put out – she was used to giving comfort, not being snubbed – and sat back down, as Tala hugged Jack, buring her face in his jacket. Jack didn't look shocked, although he raised his eyebrows at Gwen.

Eventually, her sobs ceased, and she pulled away from Jack, looking slightly embarrassed. She looked at both him and Gwen, finding sympathy in both their eyes. Leaning back against the door, she shut her eyes warily. "I don't know if she'd want me to tell you." Tala whispered, drawing her knees up to her chest, rocking back and forth and tears sprung again to her eyes.

Jack smiled slightly, and helped her stand up. "If you tell us, we can help you." He said, looking down at her.

She shook her head. "Nah. But thanks. Only time can help, maybe." She said cryptically, and walked back to her seat as Jack and Gwen resumed their previous seats as well.

Tala managed a watery smile, then looked at Jack. "Before I tell you who I am, can you guess?" she smiled again, looking a bit more cheerful at the prospect of playing a guessing game with Jack, before looking him dead in the eyes.

"Guess?" he asked, snorting. "I dunno. I've seen to many faces in this lifetime, sweetie."

"Not like this." She deadpanned, leaning her elbows on the table and staring at him in the eyes.

He shrugged. "No point. You'll tell us, anyway."

Tala sat back, smirking. "OK. Tell me, Jack, why do you run Torchwood. Cardiff, I'm assuming I'm in, right?"

"You're in Cardiff." Jack confirmed, looking at her. "And I set up Torchwood to save the human race from alien intervention. And also to use whatever they leave behind." He smiled cockily, raising one eyebrow.

"So, basically, you're saying that the human race is worth fighting for?" she said.

"Exactly." He said, before his gaze on Tala became that little bit more intense. "Why would you say that?"

"I dunno, really." Tala said, looking at her fingernails. "I've always been told it is worth fighting for, but I've never understood it."

"It's not that hard to understand." Jack said, just as the lights cut out overhead. "God. What now? Better not be another Cyberman underneath us!"

At the thought, Tala looked positively terrified.

"Don't worry, he's only joking. Does that a lot, don't really know when to take him seriously." Gwen said, resting a hand on Tala's shoulder.

"I can't get the door open. Tosh says the Hub's gone into lockdown." Jack said, coming back. "Anyway we can get the door open?"

Gwen brought out her torch, still with her after going out into the night to get Tala. "I've got a torch, a piece of chewing gum, and there's a screwdriver on the floor. No idea how that got there."

"Give me it." Jack said, catching it flawlessly as Gwen tossed him it. Bringing out his own torch, he ran over to the door, fiddling around with it, probably doing more harm than good.

"Oh, give it here!" Tala sighed, grabbing it off Jack, and bent down to fiddle with the door; sure enough, a minute later, the door swung open, with Tala leaning against it with a cocky smirk Jack recognised. Shaking his head, he walked past Tala, grabbing the screwdriver off her as he passed, waggling it in her face, as the overhead lights came on, blazing as if there was no tomorrow.

"Finally! We're not vampires, people!" Jack joked, walking up to see what exactly had caused the lockdown.

Gwen followed Jack out the door, laughing, but stopped when she arrived at Tala.

"Don't worry about him. He's not used to being outsmarted by a teenager; or anyone, for that matter." She said, as Tala laughed, before exiting the interrogation room, letting the door swing shut behind her.

_**By the way, there is a reason behind her name. Anyone who guesses correctly gets a cookie. :)**_


	3. Who Wants To Be A Billionaire?

_**The Big Bang Theory**_

_**Thank you for all your kind reviews! Another chapter for you. Please remember to review, and cookies to all those who got Tala's name right. :) **_

**_this isn't really a plot-thickening chapter; it's more of a bridge chapter, because the action gets serious in the next few chapters. _**

Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?

Soon after Tala's arrival, eleven o'clock rolled around, and Tosh and Owen departed together, with Tosh again going with the pretention she was looking after Owen; the man himself seemed quite happy to be led away. Ianto bade goodbye to the group, keeping himself quite formal, and departed soon after Tosh and Owen. All that was left was Jack, Tala and Gwen, who was currently grabbing her jacket, still talking rapidly to Tala.

"…And Weevils! Blimey, they are scary, when you come across one in a dark alley in the dodgy side of Cardiff on your own, anyway." She said, as Tala listened intently, genuinely interested at what Gwen was saying.

"Excuse me! Stop talking about whatever girly stuff you're talking about. Tala, you're not going out of the building. Vaults, now."

"Jack! She's not harmful, in any way!"

"I know." Jack said, leading Tala by the arm, "but she's not getting away, I need to know where she is coming from."

Tala grumbled at the manhandling she was receiving.

"She can come home with me!" Gwen said, startled that she'd voiced that, but then her voice became insistent as the idea pressed itself into her mind. "I've got a spare bed; she can sleep there for tonight. I'll give her some clothes, although they might be a bit big, and some food, you must be starving." Gwen smiled at Tala, who was beaming.

"Yeah, can't I go with Gwen instead of down in those cell things?" Tala said, shaking her arm to try and relinquish Jack's punishing grip on her arm, although his strong grip wasn't intended to hurt her, she knew that, but nevertheless it was getting rather painful.

"I don't know …" Jack said, looking warily at Gwen. "What'll Rhys say?"

"Never mind Rhys! I'll deal with him." Gwen said firmly, before walking over to Jack and extricated Tala from his grip, the latter rubbing her arm.

"Fine. Any trouble, phone me." Jack said, pointing a warning finger at Gwen.

"I will, don't worry!" Gwen called, as she left the Hub, with Tala, the two of them laughing about something Jack had no clue about. Rubbing a hand down his face, his head was worried; for Gwen, if Tala was not who she seemed; for Tala, if she was just a human girl lost in the Rift, although she seemed to be unfazed by the incident; for Owen, who was dead and still walking; and for himself, as he was sure that the reason Tala knew him was not going to be a good reason. Before he even knew his feet had moved, he was in bed, the last thought being an overwhelming urge to take care of Tala, and to keep her safe for him, he was coming for her.

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"Rhys! I'm back!" Gwen called out through her flat, looking for her fiancé, who had not responded to the opening of the front door like he usually did. "Hello?" She tried again.

"In the kitchen!" Rhys called out, followed by a clatter of metal and a sharp "Shit!" followed by another almighty bang.

Both women skidded around the corner of Gwen's small flat, to come face-to-face with Rhys, lying back on the floor, surrounded by pans, with one of the higher kitchen cabinets lying broken on the counter, having obviously fallen of the wall.

"God, are you alright?" Gwen rushed to Rhys's side, but once she was convinced he wasn't going to suffer more than a few bruises, she collapsed into giggles at his situation.

"It's not funny!" Rhys said, but was obviously having trouble keeping in the laughter himself. "Who's that?" he asked his wife-to-be, jerking his thumb in Tala's direction, who was picking up various pans silently.

"Tala." Gwen said, trying to balance all the pans of a free space of kitchen counter, "She'll be staying the night with us."

"Why?" said Rhys, turning to face Gwen.

"She's just with work, that's all. Hasn't got anywhere else to go, apart from the vaults at the Hub. I said she could come here, get something to eat, and sleep." Gwen turned to Rhys. "Don't worry. If Jack's got anything to do with it, she'll be back home by tomorrow morning." She said in an undertone so only Rhys could hear the last part of her sentence.

Rhys didn't look thrilled about having a stray child in his home, but he smiled anyways and stuck out his hand to Tala.

"Rhys Williams."

"Tala." the girl shook the proffered hand and smiled. "Thanks, for letting me into your home." She remembered her grandmother, always saying to her when growing up, 'manners, Tala!' but then never using them herself. Forcing herself not to burst out laughing at the thought, she turned back to Rhys and tuned into what he was saying.

"…no problems there, then. You can have the spare bed, that alright?" Rhys continued, showing her where to go. "And Gwen can lend you a tee-shirt and stuff, right?" He turned to the girl in question, who nodded.

"Excellent. Well, I'm starving, and I really can't be bothered cooking, so how about I grab a pizza?" Rhys said, and once he'd gotten approval from both females, he grabbed his coat from where he'd chucked it after work and headed out the door, but not before swiping a ten pound note from Gwen's purse, saying "I'll pay you back!"

"And yet, he never does." Gwen said, looking at Tala, before they sat down in front on the TV. "What do you want to watch?" Gwen asked Tala, who shrugged.

"I'm not usually in at this time. Not that there's really much time for TV in my house anyway, so I'm not sure what's on." she said, curling her feet underneath her on the sofa.

"Take this," Gwen threw the Sky+ remote at the teenager, who caught it swiftly, "I'm going to change, still got remains of Weevil on me. Be back in five." she said, her voice getting quieter as she disappeared over the other side of the flat.

Turning back to the TV, Tala flicked through the channels at tremendous speed, marvelling at the difference in names. '_'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?', when it's clearly supposed to be billionaire. A million's hardly worth anything! Well, it is to some people, but a million's hardly going to buy you a four-bed roomed house, never mind all these houses that are advertised. And 'Big Brother'. Geez, get a grip people, it's 'Sneaky Sister'._ _Wait, this one has people doing random challenges … where's the murder mysteries? The people getting killed off, one by one, by the Chosen Housemate, and the rest have the remainder of the week to guess which housemate it is on fear of murder themselves? These people are weird – brainwashed by prime time TV!' _

Gwen coming back through broke through Tala's trance. "Found anything you'd like to watch?" she asked, taking two glasses from a kitchen cupboard (thankfully one still attached to the wall) before clinking them down on the counter. "Diet Coke okay for you?" Gwen asked, pouring it into a glass as Rhys came home, handing out pizzas to both the girls.

"Yeah, Coke Light's fine." Tala replied, assuming that Diet and Light meant that they would be the same drink. A sip of the cool, fizzy substance confirmed this thought, as she reached for a slice of pizza.

"So … am I just gonna spent the night here, then is it back to Jack's in the morning?" Tala asked, draining her Coke, feeling sleepy.

"Yeah. Here, take this." Gwen threw a tee-shirt at Tala, "and go in here, you're dead on your feet." She steered Tala into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Tala, after getting changed, collapsed into the bed, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	4. Extraordinary Bad List of Awful Things

The Big Bang Theory

_**The Big Bang Theory**_

_**OMG how brilliant was Doctor Who last night? Didn't expect Donna to talk to Rose, not at all! Doesn't she look different? 3 omg it was amazing.**_

_**Anyway, on with the story. Long chapter (8 pages on word, longest I've ever written!) and long chapter title. I think you'll like this one.**_

_**(Oh and btw the end scene of LOTL's didn't happen, and neither did VOTD; Martha's here (and knows Jack), the Doctor's never met Astrid, and Donna's no where in sight.)**_

_**Enjoy! 3**_

An Extraordinary Bad List of Awful Things That May or May Not Happen At Torchwood Three.

It was precisely 2:03am when all hell broke loose.

Gwen's phone began to ring, a loud, high-pitched version of Kylie Minogue's _'Wow'._ Groaning, she turned over to her beside table, where her phone lay – or at least, it had done last night. She reached out a hostile hand, unwilling to release herself from her warm, snug cocoon. She felt around on her table, her hand only coming into contact with Ikea's kit wooden bedside table, before her hand finally closed around the Sony Erickson phone she desired.

Glancing at the user ID, she sighed. "Jack. You do know-"

"Yeah, it 2am. Whatever. We've got major problems going on here, rift activity, everything. Tosh and Owen are on their way, Ianto's here helping me. You and Tala have got to come, now!"

Gwen was already half-dressed, had woken up Rhys, and on her way to the spare bedroom to try and rouse the girl who was sleeping soundly in the room, seemingly unaware of the commotion that was unfolding. "Yeah, I'm just waking her up now. We'll be there in five." she said, ending the call before Jack could argue that she was to be there in two minutes, not five.

Pushing open the door of the spare bedroom, Gwen crept inside as quickly as she could, shaking Tala gently by the shoulder to try and rouse the girl. "Tala. Tala. Come on, wake up." She said quietly.

The girl in question just turned and continued on sleeping.

Rhys sighed. "All right, get up! Jack wants us at the Hub in five!" he shouted, and Tala jumped to attention, tripping on some bedcovers that had fallen to the floor during the time she'd slept.

"Nice trip, where is my postcard?" Rhys joked, as Tala stood up and shot a death glare at him.

"Let's go!" Gwen said, as she and Rhys departed the room so Tala could dress; soon, she came out with her Torchwood London tee-shirt on and jeans firmly back on her legs. Gwen gave her a leather jacket that was once hers, but was now too small for her. She had no idea why she kept it, but Tala seemed delighted with it, and slipped it on, the garment fitting perfectly; after waiting for around thirty seconds while Tala tied up her converses, and they were off into the Cardiff night.

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Back at the Torchwood Hub, Jack was pacing while Tosh, Owen and Ianto tried to make sense of the confusing situation the team had currently found themselves in. Everyone that was present was rushing about, making sure that everyone in the Vaults was still there, no-one who had been frozen had been unfrozen, and that everything was working properly. There hadn't been this much panic in the building since Suzie had come back from the dead, and that was a bad time for the team. Now, it seemed that this had to come high up on the 'Extraordinary Bad List of Awful Things That May or May Not Happen at Torchwood Three.' Maybe even the highest. Jack sighed, and turned to his team.

"Run it by me again, someone, please!" Jack said, massaging his head.

"We've got major rift activity; there is something trying to get through. Something big." Tosh said.

"Or a lot of things. Instead of something big, it could be a lot of things trying to get through the Rift." Ianto said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, it could be either one."

"Do we know what it is yet?"

"No. We won't find out until it's fully through the Rift."

"Great." Jack said sarcastically. "And now we wait."

"And now, we wait." Owen echoed.

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It was about thirty seconds later that Gwen led Rhys and Tala to Torchwood Three's Hub through the employee entrance, not the magical stone lift that Rhys and Tala had both experienced on different occasions before. Ianto, Jack, Tosh and Owen stopped, stared, and smiled at the three newcomers, before Jack's elation at seeing Gwen into anger as he looked at Rhys.

"WHAT'S HE DOING HERE?!" He boomed, racing down the stairs, coat flying out behind him, stopping dead in front of Gwen's husband, his eyes glaring fire. He hated Rhys, deep down inside, no matter how grateful he was that he was there with the episode with the meat. He was only there because his stupid company leant out the vans to the vile people, anyway.

"He's here to help." Gwen said, holding out a feeble hand to stop Jack.

"No. He," He pointed a finger in Rhys's face, "Is not helping. He's not part of the team."

"You said you needed all the help you could get, Jack." Gwen said calmly, as if this sort of thing happened everyday. _Probably did_, thought Rhys as he looked to Jack for approval.

Resisting the urge to punch him square in the face, Jack nodded, eventually and reluctantly. "Okay, he can't help. But I'm not ruling out the idea of giving him Retcon when this is all over." He said, pointing a finger in Rhys's face and in Gwen's general direction. It gave him an odd satisfaction to have authority over Rhys.

"Now we're all done playing domestic, can we get on with tackling the problem at hand?" Owen said, as Tosh gasped.

"There's something coming through the Rift!" She called out, as Jack ran back up the stairs to her computer. "I'll try and get a clearer image…" she muttered, as at the present time there was only a fuzzy outline of something coming through the Rift.

"Déjà vu, anyone?" Jack joked, in reference to Tala's entrance to Cardiff, but soon inhaled a sharp breath as three figures made themselves apparent on the screen.

"It'll take them half an hour to get through fully, Jack." Gwen said, on the other computer, making sure they were okay for just now.

"What are they?" Tosh said, peering closer at the pepper-pots that were floating through the Rift.

"Daleks." Jack said grimly, as a sound filled the cavernous room; the sound of wheezy old engines. "Sealing us in lockdown." he said, smiling as the sound filled the room, his hand hitting the button as a Blue Police Box came into view.

"And with Daleks, comes our saviour!" Jack said, his smile as wide as anyone had seen it, as that Jack waiting, looking at the blue Police Box with rapt anticipation.

_Vwarp, vwarp, vwarp …._

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_Meanwhile, inside the 'blue police box with the wheezy engines'…_

"For the last time, Martha, No, I'm not taking you to my planet!" a figure said, walking around the TARDIS console, banging on something every now and then.

A black girl, Martha, stood up from the Captain's Chair, where she'd been sitting, and walked over to him. "Why not?" she pouted, a new trick of hers, since he'd let slip that he could never say no to one of his past companions (three guesses who) when she pouted.

He looked at her. "Because. I'm not." He said shortly, and Martha gave up, slouching.

"Doctor!"

"Martha!" the Doctor said in the same, whiny voice that she'd just said his name in. "We're not going and that's that. Now, where to go, where to go! Such a large and heavy question, that is. So many places in the Universe to go, and I have no idea where to. Shame, really. I could-"

A rapid flashing with warning alerts rang from the console drew the Doctor's attention, who looked at the screen, then frowned. Martha tried reading the screen over his shoulder, but it was in 'his' language, which rendered her power of reading useless.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" She said, knowing there was a 50 percent chance he's ignore her, a 50 percent chance he'd tell her. Thankfully, it was the latter.

"Right. Okay, better explain this from the beginning. There's a space/time Rift, running through time and space. Runs right through the centre of Cardiff. Sometimes stop there to refuel. Bad and good memories for me there. But, since my last encounter there, I've installed a Rift Activity Monitor to alert me as to when there's major Rift activity, and unfortunately, it's just told me there is. So, off we go, Cardiff, Earth, 2008. Ohh, March. Spring, I like spring. Lots of flowers blooming, signs of new life. I like roses." he said, flashing Martha a mega-what smile as he punched coordinates into the flight thingy-ma-jig, and they began their descent to Cardiff.

"I went to Cardiff." Martha said, as they landed. "Before we met up again."

"Did you?" the Doctor said absently, reaching for his jacket, checking to see he had his sonic screwdriver, before heading for the door.

"Yeah. For a couple of weeks. Worked for-"

"Jack!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Martha said, nodding. "How did you know?"

"No, Jack!" the Doctor pointed through the open door, at Jack, standing with his team, who all looked a tad bemused.

"Doctor!" Jack said, and bounded forward to give him a hug, which the Doctor accepted. "Long time, no see."

"Indeed." the Doctor said, smiling at the group of people before him.

Martha let herself out the TARDIS, and as Tosh yelled "Martha!" the two girls embraced, along with Gwen, Ianto and Owen, creating a five-group hug, all five laughing.

"How've you been, Martha?" Owen asked, one arm around Martha, the other around Tosh.

"I've been excellent, Owen. Glad to see you're still in the land of the living!" she joked, a huge smile on her face as she was surrounded by her once workmates.

"Thanks, Martha." Owen pretended to be offended as Tosh, Gwen and Ianto struggled to contain their laughter.

A loud cough from behind Martha drew her attention.

"Sorry!" she swivelled around, turning to the cougher, Jack, who was beaming.

"Ma'am!" He said, saluting, before lifting her off her feet in a hug. "I told you you'd be back! It's the jaw line, I tell you, and it's true!"

Setting Martha back on the ground, Jack once again turned to the Doctor. "Owen Harper, Medic; Toshiko Sato, Computer Whiz; Gwen Cooper, General Brilliance and 2nd in Command; Ianto Jones, Butler and Also General Brilliance; Rhys Williams; he's Gwen's husband, he's not really got a use. He's just here if we need him." He nodded to each of his Torchwood team, plus Rhys, whom he had to include now, even though Gwen gave his a glare at what he said about Rhys. "The Doctor." Jack beamed at the Doctor, before faltering. "Oh. Tala, Doctor. Sorry, forgot about you." Jack said, throwing a cheeky smirk at the girl in question.

Tala scowled, but remained silent as introductions were made, hands were shook and tea was offered and denied, and slinked away, extracting a mobile phone, her absence unnoticed by the group.

"Back to the situation." Gwen said, and a sinister mood settled over the entire group.

"Yes. My rift activity monitor told me that rift activity was taking place, but i have no idea what's coming through." the Doctor said.

"Daleks." Tosh said, a device unknown to everyone else clutched in her hand. "That's what Jack said."

"Confirm." Jack seconded.

The Doctor looked murderous. "Again. I get rid of them, but they come back. Keep coming back." he looked as though he was about to throw something across the Hub.

Martha frowned. "I thought that you got rid of them all but one?" she asked the Doctor, who turned back to Jack, who understood his question without words, and held up three fingers; one for each Dalek coming through the Rift.

The Doctor swore. "The void." he said quietly. "They must be coming through the void."

Suddenly, the doors of the conference room banged open, and Tala came through, her phone clutched in her hand. "Back-up called in." she said, smiling as if there was no tomorrow.

"How did you get a signal? We're sealed in." Gwen asked.

"Ohh, my phone's super." Tala said, shaking it.

"I don't want anyone else involved in this!" Jack said, and the Doctor nodded his approval at Jack's words.

"Don't worry. They're trained. Now, Doctor, I need you to do something. Set a course for Canary Wharf, can you do that?" she smiled at him.

"No."

"Do it, please." she fluttered her eyelashes.

"Torchwood London is out of use, Tala." Ianto said, looking at the girl.

"Not to me." Tala looked at the group, steely determination in her eyes that two out of seven people in the Hub had seen before.

xxxxxxxx

After a tense ten minutes in which no-one spoke (Ianto made tea for seven), Tala's phone trilled into life, a tune that no-one but Tala seemed to recognize coming from the device in her hand.

"Tala speaking." she said, and her suddenly she snapped up, her body on high alert. "Kay. Where about?" She rolled her eyes at whoever was one the other end of the phone. "Wait there. I'll be there in a second."

Turning back to the group, who were all looking at her expectantly, she rolled her eyes. "Stay here. I'll be back soon." she said, and then turned and left.

"CCTV!" Tosh said, and jumped up to find that, to her dismay, the lockdown had caused CCTV to go offline. "CCTV offline." she called to the rest of the group, who moaned. They were waiting with baited breath, even the Doctor, who had a funny feeling that Tala would turn out to be someone they knew; he recognised her, he was sure of it. Deep down inside him, he had a fierce feeling to take care of her.

xxxxxxxx

"You're here!" Tala yelled, running at the figure that was stepping out of the rift.

The figure caught her around the waist, spinning her around. "It's been too long." The voice said, confirming it was male.

"What? Three days?" she said.

"Four, actually."

"Whatever. Takes about two days to get through the damn thing. You got them?" she asked expectantly.

"Of course." The figure said, holding out two guns to Tala, and taking two for himself.

"Uncle Mickey, I love you." Tala said, kissing him on the cheek before cocking a gun, pulling a James-Bond-style pose.

Mickey laughed, throwing an arm around his niece. "You ready to put this plan of yours into action?"

"With you? Always!"

The two set off for Torchwood.

xxxxxxxx

Creeping around, Tala let herself into Torchwood silently, a motion of her hand telling Mickey to stay back. Holding her handheld gun in her right hand, she burst through the doors of Torchwood, laughing somewhat manically.

"You people." she said, and everyone stood and looked at her, on their guard. "I wander through the rift, look lost and innocent, and you people crumble like sugar." She looked at each of them, dead in the eye, before cocking the gun as she reached the Doctor, who recoiled from the girl, thinking she was about to shoot. "I had a job." She said, and Jack looked confused. "Infiltration and investigation. I was to come in to Torchwood Three, Cardiff, and get to know each and every one of you. What you're like, your job, even your name is an asset to me. Of course, Jack, you made that so easy, didn't you? You said it all when you introduced us. You should be more careful who you reveal your jobs to in the future."

Every single member of Torchwood looked shocked, even Martha and the Doctor; Gwen had a look of betrayal on her face. She'd let this child into her home! What had she gone and done?

"Well, you all performed fantastically. Bravo. But now I'm here to take over Torchwood Three. Oh, and don't worry, I will shoot if you disobey me." To prove her point, she stuck out her gun, a fired two bullets; one went in Jack's chest, the other his stomach.

The team were in uprage. "I won't let Torchwood be taken over by a teenage girl!" Owen said fiercely.

"I have an associate." the Doctor stared at Tala; she sounded like the Daleks, when they had held Rose on the Game Station. That was the last time he'd heard the word 'associate'.

"Smith!" She yelled, not taking her eyes off the group, beckoning her associate forward. Everyone was stock still, not knowing what this 'associate' would do.

Mickey Smith walked forward, his gun cocked and ready, with an angry and determined look on his face. He looked a lot older than when Jack and the Doctor had last seen him; he looked about forty. He stopped dead when he came in to the Hub, looking up. "Oh, my God." he said, in total awe of the place.

Tala looked around at him; her little face furious.

"You IDIOT!" she screamed, running over to him. "You're meant to make them intimidate you! Not think 'aw, ain't he cute, being all "oh my god!" about the bleedin' place!' Get a grip! Mickey-the-Idiot, you really live up to your nickname, don't you?" she said, hitting him over the head with her gun.

"Didn't your mother tell you precisely what never to do t me with a gun?" Mickey said, standing up straight, straightening his pristine, black suit.

"Never to hit you when the gun is cocked." Tala said, embarrassed, and looked down at the floor before realizing she'd left the group, and whirled back around, gun pointed at Owen.

"You've killed him!" Mickey said, pointing at Jack.

"Oh, but you're lucky, aren't you?" Tala said, looking at the Torchwood team, and held up five fingers. Folding one, she seemed to be counting down to something. She had three left when Jack burst back into life.

"You were supposed to be dead for another three seconds!" Tala yelled at him, kicking him in the shin; it must have been a sharp kick, as it made Jack recoil and rub his shin, before he stood up, much to the awe of Mickey.

"Oh, get a grip, Uncle Mickey." Tala said, throwing him a death glare, before turning back to the group. The Doctor and Jack had been staring at Mickey.

"Hey." Mickey said, nodding at the two, gun still pointed at them. "Long time, no see, Doc. And Jumping Jack Flash. Jesus."

"You know these people?" Tala said, walking up to Mickey, and standing beside him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know they would be here, did I?" Mickey muttered to Tala, before straightening up.

"Who are you people?" Ianto asked, speaking on behalf of all the Torchwood employees, who looked as shocked as each other.

"I'm Mickey Smith, Torchwood One Officer, and Based in London. And this is my niece, Tala Tyler, Head of Alien Communications and Liaisons, Torchwood One Officer, and Based in London."

"You got a problem with that?" Tala added, as she stood beside Mickey, standing proud and tall with a gun in her hand.


	5. Bad Buttons and a Torchwood Transfer

_**The Big Bang Theory**_

_**Well, I haven't got much to say this time (apart from what was that with Rose in the Poison Sky? She was like on the TV for a millisecond) and congrats to Billie Piper about her baby if the rumours are true. :)**_

_**And also thanks a bunch to my wonderful amazing cousin Ella, aka SonicScrewdriver. Thanks El for helping me in my time of need (!), and I hope you enjoy this chapter. :) Big Battle stuff in near chapters. Starting next chapter. :)**_

Everyone stood looking at each other, barely breathing.

The Doctor was shocked. This girl, standing in front of him, was a Tyler. She looked "Don't bother. We'll deal with this." She said, nodding to Mickey, who walked went up to Tosh's computer before inserting a CD-like device into the hard drive; a few button clicks made the Rift lock back up, closing off this world from the Daleks. Mickey looked smug and retrieved the CD, saying thanks to Tosh before walking over to Tala.

She was the spit of Rose; her eyes were exactly the same, hazel and round that could squint into slits to throw off evil looks but still managed to look wide-eyed and amazed when extraordinary things happened. Her face was also similar, but it was her hair that stood out. Since he was used to seeing that face and those eyes (abet a little bit older) with blonde hair, it was startling to see them with chocolate brown hair. It suited her, but it was still strange to him. He imagined she must be Rose's sister – Rose had said on the beach that Jackie was three months pregnant. It all fitted.

Jack's voice broke through the silence. "Fine. Whatever. Hi, Mickey. Nice to see you again." His voice was ironic. Mickey scowled. "But we have Daleks coming through the rift. Can we leave the domestics until after we've defeated the deadliest creatures of the universe?" He asked sarcastically, looking to the other members of his team to assist him. Moving towards their stations, they were stopped by Tala.

"Done." He said simply. "What's the situation?"

"I don't know. It's probably got worse. Everyone was in a right state." Tala said quietly, the whole group standing watching the pair, even the Doctor; he had opened his mouth several times as if he was about to say something, before deciding against it.

Tala whipped out her mobile phone again, and spoke into it softly. "Hey, It's Tala … Yes, I know … Sorry, but we've found them! … No, I won't do it again … What's it like? … Oh great … Right, ok. … I'll get everyone back soon. Gotcha. Love you, Bye!" she said, hanging up before the person on the end could mutter another word.

When she turned to speak to the group again, it was Mickey she was addressing. "It's pandemonium. They're getting through. Unfortunately they're too far through to use the Rift Reinforcers; they've almost completely broken down the barrier's we've set up. Caitlin and Jake are preparing everyone for a fight. Mum's plane is somewhere over the Weimar Republic, apparently. She should be home soon, but everyone wants us back now. And we've got the bring this lot with us." She finished, pointing at the group. "How many do you have?"

"Five." Mickey replied, patting his jacket pockets apparently looking for something. "You?"

"Five as well. Do you think that will be enough?" she said, counting the group. There were 9.

"Yeah." Mickey said. "One spare." He smiled at her, as he brought out circular yellow buttons the Doctor had seen before.

"Oh no you don't." the Doctor said, finally finding his voice. "What have I told you about those buttons? They tear holes in the universe!" He stressed, looking wildly from Mickey to Tala. Mickey started defiantly back, while Tala looked confused.

"We've improved them." Mickey said. "We've worked very hard on them. They don't tear holes in the universe anymore. Well, not big ones, anyway. And now we've got the software back on out Earth to patch them up." Mickey again adopted a smug look. "Now, we've got the get back home." Mickey said, while Tala started handing out buttons to everyone in the room.

The Doctor took one, but did not put it over his head like everyone else had done. He was still apprehensive about this; he did not like the idea of having the repair another hole in the universes and having to go through the mental torture of what he'd had to go through before. He also knew that if he went with them, he's see Rose again. Would she look the same? Would she have moved on with her life? Married, with kids and a house and a dog with a nose? He knew that he wanted her to have a fantastic life, but a very small and very selfish part of him was hoping that she hadn't. That she'd still be the same old Rose he knew before. He held the button in his hand, staring at it. "You said you had one spare." He said, looking at Tala, and idea forming in his mind that would probably prove useful as a back-up. Plus that fact he didn't go anywhere without her.

"Yes." She said, nodding slowly.

"I know where you can use it." He said, and deftly caught the button thrown at him by Mickey. Walking up, he hooked it over the TARDIS light, so that she would get transported with them. Mickey rolled his eyes.

"Now we can go." He said.

"Go where?" Martha voiced everyone in the room's thoughts.

"Three, two, one…" Mickey counted, before pressing his hand against the button, and Torchwood Three was deserted.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

On contrast, Torchwood One in Alternative London was in chaos. Everyone was rushing around, some people where screaming, while some were barking orders. The moment the group landed, a man that the Doctor recognized ran over to them, who would have looked as through he was popping into a meeting if it wasn't for the stressed look on his face. Pete Tyler looked a completely different man; he was almost completely bald, and his face had considerably more wrinkles.

"Tala!" he said, and the girl ran up to meet him; he squeezed her tightly before letting go. "Are you OK? I know they shouldn't have put you through there, I'm so sorry…" He said, trailing off to hug her again.

"I'm fine." She smiled, her voice muffled since her face was still pressed into his suit.

"Good." He said, shaking hands with Mickey before noticing the Doctor. He stared for a moment, and then swivelled back to Tala, who was smirking.

"You did it." He said simply. He walked up to the Doctor and extended a hand, which the Doctor shook. They smiled at each other before Pete addressed the rest. "I'm Pete Tyler, Head of Torchwood One." He said. "Call me Pete."

"Jack." Jack Harkness stepped forward and shook Pete's hand.

"Jack? Rose has mentioned you before." He said, smirking at Jack's beaming smile. He turned back to Tala with a proud smile on his face. He looked at the Doctor, then back again at Tala. "Well done." He said, beckoning them to follow as they entered Pete's office. "Jacks didn't think you could do it. But, between you and me, I knew that you would do it. You're a Tyler, and we don't give up." Pete said to Tala, although it was not quiet and the whole group heard him.

"What?" The Doctor stopped, looking confused and a little hurt. "You came through to this universe to find me and bring me back here?"

"Yeah, kinda. Sorry." Tala said, rubbing her neck as a light and almost undetectable blush stained her cheeks. "It was my assignment. You were my assignment."

"So that what all the manic laughing and hitting Mickey and stuff was about?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah. Sorry. Trying to establish an environment of intimidation so you guys would do what I said. Sorry again. Didn't work though, did it …" she trailed off, looking a bit disappointed as she realized her oh-so-cunning plan didn't exactly work out.

"Why me?" The Doctor asked, looking at Tala.

"Because, frankly, we need you."

"Need me? What for?"

"The Daleks have been breaking through the barriers for about three months now." Pete started. "Luckily we now have such advanced software that we were able to detect them getting in pretty early. Rose told us you were the only hope of defeating them, and you were pretty much out of the question. Until Tala said she'd been working on the buttons that allowed us to jump from one universe to another."

"You?" Owen asked, pointing at her. The whole of the Torchwood team and Martha had been quiet, listening intently.

"Yes. Me." Tala said, staring him in the eyes. "It's a personal project. Something for someone. To help them. They deserved it, and I knew that only I had the ability to fix them. So I did." She cast her eyes down to the ground, before Mickey rested his hand on her shoulder. Looking into his eyes, Tala snapped back into action before anyone could say anything.

"People, we all need to work together to help fight them." She said, slapping her hands together.

"Don't you think that the Doc should take charge? No offense, Tala, but he's more experienced." Jack submitted, pointing in the Doctor's direction.

Tala rolled her eyes. "Be my guest." She smirked, letting the Doctor know he was welcome to have full reign over this. She turned to Pete. "I'm going to find Andie and Katie, okay?" She said, waving as she shut the door.

"My daughters." Mickey said, in answer to most people's questions.

"Right, we need a - " Pete started, before all the lights flickered just as they had at Torchwood Three.

A woman ran in, looking slightly harassed. "Mr Tyler, sir, most of the power on the lower floors has cut off. The generator is working but it's powering up. We're expected to lose power in ten minutes." She said.

"Thanks Mandy." Pete replied, just as the TV behind his flickered, Tala's face coming into view.

"Granddad? You there?" Tala said, obviously typing in something as her head was done.

"Receiving, Tala." He said, turning around.

"Mum's back." Tala said, before being shoved off the TV, with an indignant "Oi!"

"Dad, I can't see you. Can you see me? I think the screen went with the power." Rose's face appeared.

"I can see you. Did Tala tell you she had succeeded in her assignment?"

"Yeah, she did." Rose said, before breaking into a smile. "Hello, Doctor."


End file.
